The King's Bed
by show-me-your-tardis
Summary: A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. this will be updated on a weekly basis (hopefully) this is slash but is not smut. I hope you enjoy and feel free to review. I obviously do not own Merlin. *NOW COMPLETE*
1. Chapter 1

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

This will be a multi-chapter story. I promise, promise, promise not to abandon it like I did with_ The Second Wedding. _

I go on holiday tomorrow (yaaaaay) so I'll upload the second chapter when I come back in a week. The chapters will be up weekly unless something horrific happens to me.

This chapter is sort of a preface to the rest of the story, hence why it's so short. Other chapters will be about twice this size.

Okay so_** spoilers:**_ I'm not sure on the specifics of which episode but it's pre Mordred and post Lancelot's return, so if you have no idea who either of those guys are, I suggest you _**do not read!**_

Also, yes this is a slash-y one, so if you stick religiously to canon pairings this story probably isn't for you. I guess you could just hum loudly whenever I start shipping :)

As always please review. Thank you and I hope you enjoy reading it!

* * *

"Come on Merlin, you're not even trying." Arthur mocked, "You just have to focus. I know you're not a knight, but even you have some ability to focus. If you just aim carefully."

Merlin ignored Arthur's monologue, instead he jumped down from his horse and dislodged the poorly aimed arrow from the tree trunk. He could still hear Arthur rambling about focus, any minute now he'd start on about determination.

"If you just have a little determination." Arthur continued and Merlin resisted rolling his eyes, "What makes knights great is their ability to-"

"To be so arrogant and obnoxious that they-" Merlin began as he clambered back onto his horse.

"MERLIN!" Arthur bellowed.

Before Arthur could continue a deer dashed in front of their path. Arthur pushed his horse forward slowly and took aim. The deer caught sight of the two men and froze.

Seconds passed and Arthur took a deep breath. He let go of the arrow, felt the fletching cut into his cheek, and exhaled.

A twig snapped to their left. Merlin and Arthur's heads simultaneously snapped towards the sound, neither saw the arrow miss the deer.

Instead, Arthur heard a rustle of leaves where the deer had been.

"Hear that Merlin? Direct shot." Arthur boasted, "Help me get the thing."

Merlin rolled his eyes at the King's ego and jumped down from his horse for the second time. Arthur picked his way through the forest, closely followed by Merlin.

Another twig snapped, closer this time. Arthur froze, something wasn't right.

"Merlin-" Before Arthur could finish his warning, seven ugly faces emerged from the bushes. Rotten grins etched across each of their faces.

Merlin's heart sped up as he saw the gleaming weapons in their hands. Three had axes and the other four had swords. Arthur had left his sword with his horse, they had no means of defense, Merlin couldn't exactly use his magic right now.

Arthur knew they had no hope. He quickly skimmed through their options, the only one that even had a slight chance was to run. Yes it was cowardly, but it was the only option.

Quick as a flash he had Merlin's arm and was half leading, half dragging Merlin away from the bandits.

"RUN" He ordered, not giving Merlin much of a choice as he yanked him through the forest.

The pounding of feet followed them, the jeers and shouts from the bandits never ceased. Merlin's heart felt like it was going to burst through his chest, he knew he couldn't keep this up much longer. They had to lose them or he had to sacrifice himself to save Arthur.

Almost like he could hear Merlin's thoughts, Arthur tightened his grip on Merlin's arm. He wasn't about to lose him.

The first arrow came as a shock as it whizzed between their heads. They must have picked up Arthur's dropped crossbow.

Arthur pushed his body further, weaving expertly through the trees and rocks. Merlin followed clumsily; it seemed to Arthur he was purposely stumbling over every rock he saw. If they weren't running for their lives, he would have given him another lecture about focus. The boy never focused.

The second arrow bounced off Arthur's chainmail. Merlin said a silent thank you that he had managed to convince Arthur to wear it.

The third arrow, both Merlin and Arthur knew it was coming, took a bit longer. Arthur tried to think what could possibly keep them from firing the next arrow. Each idea he thought of came up worse. As he mentally planned their route through the forest, he didn't hear the snap of the bow behind him.

Merlin's breath caught in his throat. The arrow had pierced through the weak part of the chainmail on Arthur's shoulder.

"ARTHUR" Merlin cried, but the sound was distorted by the increasing jeers of the bandits.

Arthur slowed, his legs became less certain on the ground, but he never let go of Merlin's arm. Eventually his foot caught on a log and he fell face first into the ground. Merlin barely resisted being dragged down with him. Somehow he managed to stay on his feet. He spun round, flung his hand out and watched the seven bodies fly backwards through the forest.

He didn't have much time before they came back. They knew they had injured the King of Camelot, there's no way they'd leave without him. Merlin jumped over the log and bent down to Arthur.

"Come on, Arthur we don't have much time." Merlin insisted.

Arthur didn't respond. Merlin pulled Arthur's arm over his shoulder and dragged him up. Arthur's eyes remained unfocused as Merlin dragged him along, the roles reversed.

Stumbling through the forest, Merlin looked for a place to hide. There was no way they could ever outrun the bandits, especially now Arthur was injured. Merlin tried to picture where they were in the forest but he wasn't as good as Arthur. He spotted a sizeable rock. That would have to do.

He heaved Arthur towards the rock and set him down behind it. He leant down and looked into Arthur's eyes.

"Arthur, look at me." Merlin begged. Arthur's eyelids drooped, his eyes remaining unfocused.

Carefully Merlin looked at the wound. The arrow had penetrated right through the chainmail, the shirt and Arthur's skin. Blood leaked out on Arthur's white cotton shirt and stained the chainmail. Merlin panicked. What on earth should he do?

He gritted his teeth, and yanked. The arrow came out, without looking at it, Merlin flung it behind him.

"Okay, think Merlin." Merlin whispered to himself, trying desperately to remember any of his physician lessons.

_Plug the wound._

Gaius' voice came back to Merlin but could he trust it? He was panicking right now and if he did this wrong it would all be on him. Maybe his mind had just distorted his own thoughts into Gaius' voice.

Well it was the only course of action he knew right now. He swiftly untied the scarf from around his neck and stuffed it under the chainmain against the wound. Instantly, the maroon became stained with dark brown.

Merlin moved backwards and tilted Arthur's head towards him, the eyes remained closed, the skin was pale – there was no blood in his cheeks.

Merlin held back the curse words that threatened to escape his lips. He had to use magic. Without it, Arthur would just continue to get worse.

He lay Arthur down on his stomach. Taking a deep breath, Merlin muttered the spell under his breath, his hand placed over Arthur. He saw the gold line his vision and felt the magic ripple down his arm.

Before he could check if it had worked, Merlin heard footsteps on the other side of the rock. He ducked down behind the rock and held his breath. Willing Arthur to stay silent until the bandits had passed.

"Where'd he go?" A grissly voice came from behind the rock.

Merlin ducked closer to the ground.

"Don' know. We need to find 'im though." Another voice replied.

"Dis way. Look!" A higher pitched voice came through. Merlin guessed it was more likely to be a young boy than a woman.

The footsteps died away, Merlin had no idea what had caught their attention but he thanked whatever it was.

The light of the forest began to die away as the evening turned into night. Merlin pulled off his jacket, after feeling how cold the King was, and draped it over him. The small jacket barely covered Arthur's muscles but it was better than nothing.

Merlin felt the wind pick up around them and subconsciously wriggled closer to Arthur.

Eventually he fell asleep.

At some time close to dawn, Merlin snapped awake, tormented by the nightmares of the day before.

He shook his head trying to shake out the image of Arthur being hit by an arrow. He turned to the body next to him and felt Arthur's forehead. It was still icy cold.

Sighing Merlin turned back and rested his head on the rock.

His eyes locked onto the unpleasant face in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

Here you go, here's the second chapter as promised

Thank you so much for those who reviewed/followed/favourited, I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint

Not much to say about this one... So enjoy!

* * *

Stood in between two unnaturally parallel trees was a short, stout man. He had more hair in his beard than on his head and small piggy eyes that remained fixed on Merlin.

Merlin blinked, his hand fluttered protectively over the King's body. The man looked from Merlin's eyes, to his hand and back again. His face contorted slowly until he was baring his rotting teeth.

Merlin's stomach flipped, was this man a bandit? Were they surrounded?

The young warlock cursed himself, how could he have been so stupid? How could he have fallen asleep in the middle of the forest, when Arthur was injured and there were bandits on the loose? Arthur was right, he really did need to focus.

The short man took a small step forward, still baring his teeth. Merlin gripped Arthur's arm, a half baked idea forming in his mind.

But before the man could get any closer, a voice rang out from behind him. A voice unfamiliar to Merlin, which somehow managed to soothe his tense nerves.

"Faron. What is it? Who's there?" The voice was obviously feminine; and had Merlin picturing warm honey drizzling over porridge or hearing the crackle of a campfire on a cold night. His hand loosened on Arthur's arm.

The man turned around in reponse to the voice and Merlin seized his opportunity. He heaved himself into a kneeling position and turned to the King – preparing to pull him through the forest.

He stopped short when he saw the blue eyes staring back. Merlin felt giddy, Arthur was awake. A million and one questions bubbled under Merlin's surface, the majority of them being as simple as _are you okay?_

He didn't need to ask though. Arthur did not look okay.

Distantly Merlin heard the sound of somebody dismounting a horse, but he didn't turn to see who it was. He only had eyes for his friend in front of him. Arthur's face was composed into an emotionless mask, but it didn't fool Merlin. His skin was just a little too pale to be healthy.

Dark circles under his eyes, Arthur gave a minute shake of his head and Merlin sat himself back down. Merlin's mouth opened in protest; Arthur's mask disappeared for a second but it was long enough for Merlin; long enough to see how much pain he was in. Merlin shut his mouth.

"FARON!" The voice shouted. It was still feminine, but the abrupt change in volume and tone no longer soothed Merlin, instead it stood the hairs up on the back of his neck.

"M' lady." The man replied, as he bowed his head slightly at the approaching figure.

"Wipe that smirk off your face." The woman replied.

_That was a smirk? _Merlin thought, confused.

Merlin turned away from the King and waited with apprehension. The figure stepped out of the shadows. Arthur and Merlin gasped simultaneously.

The woman in front of them was – quite simply – gorgeous. There was no other way about it. She wore a plain, white cotton dress; similar to the ones Merlin had seen the townswoman in. However, the way she held herself; standing tall and proud; implied she was no simple townswoman. Her brown hair was twisted into a plait and the morning sunlight picked up the lighter coloured strands entwined within it. Her skin was pale but not in a sickly way, instead it reminded the two men of snow covered fields, glittering in the sun. Her eyes were a dark brown which contrasted massively with her skin colour, making them stand out and capture Merlin's attention.

She turned away from the man – Merlin assumed he was "Faron" - and her eyes landed on the two men crumbled near the rock. She gasped and ran forward, dragging the white dress through the mud.

"You are King Arthur, yes?" She asked, kneeling down and holding Arthur's head up which had slowly flopped sideways. She had an accent Merlin had never heard before.

In response Arthur mumbled incoherently.

"He is." Merlin corrected, there was no point lying – Merlin was a terrible liar and the woman had clearly recognised him even if she wasn't completely sure.

"YOU! YOU HAVE INJURED HIM!" The woman shouted abruptly, standing and pointing an accusing finger at Merlin.

Merlin jumped up just as fast, "No! I am his servant. There were bandits, he got hit by an arrow!"

The woman narrowed her eyes at Merlin but lowered her finger. She obviously didn't trust him.

"He's... He's... Truth..." Arthur mumbled.

The woman lowered herself in front of Arthur once again and looked into his eyes.

"I am Lady Noramag, we have travelled far to find you. Our town, my father's kingdom, was attacked, we heard word that your's, Arthur Pendragon, would be next."

"We need to... Merlin, horses..." Arthur trailed off. Merlin raised a perplexed eyebrow.

"We lost our horses when we were attacked." At Lady Noramag's expression, Merlin reluctantly added, "Sire."

"You can use Faron's horse, your Highness." Merlin glanced at Faron and could tell he wasn't happy about Arthur using his horse. Nevertheless the tiny man helped Noramag to lead him towards the steed.

Merlin hovered behind, unsure what to do. Noramag clearly didn't want Merlin there but Arthur needed him, there was no way he could ride on his own.

Making his mind up, Merlin placed his foot on the stirrup and attempted to climb up behind Arthur.

The Lady cleared her throat. Merlin, half hanging off the horse, turned his head in her direction.

"What are you doing?" She demanded.

"I'm- I'm- He can't ride on his own." Merlin stammered, his usual wit dissolving under her intense gaze.

"You lead him then. You do not ride on the same horse as the King, you are merely a servant. Honestly boy, if you were my servant you would have been hung by your thumbs by now." Noramag lectured as she climbed onto her own horse.

Merlin rolled his eyes and jumped down, he heard a faint laugh come from Arthur. Merlin would've had revenge, had the King's body not flopped heavily forward.

* * *

Gaius routed around the shelves, looking for the blue potion. Where had that clumsy boy put it?

Finally Gaius' fingers found the glass bottle and he turned back to his patient. Or more his patient's father.

"Give him a drop of this potion, twice daily. Preferably when he wakes and before he sleeps." Gaius explained pushing the bottle into the man's hands. This was the fourth case of Yellow Pox he'd seen in the past three days.

"Thank you Gaius, thank you so much! How can I repay you?" The man asked, tears still falling from his eyes.

"Honestly, there's no need." Gaius said waving the man off, he didn't heal the sick for money. The man picked up his little boy, his head flopping like a ragdoll, and carried him to the door.

Gaius was about to open the door for the man but was stopped by a loud pounding from the other side. Confused, Gaius opened the door, revealing four knights, specifically, Sir Leon, Sir Percival, Sir Gwaine and Sir Elyan.

The knights parted to allow the man and his son to leave before stepping inside. Gaius closed the door behind them and turned to face them. The knights dropped the facade they had held when the man was there, now they looked visibly upset.

"Can I help you?" Gaius asked, he always felt nervous around the knights, even though he knew there was no reason to.

"Is Merlin home?" Sir Leon asked, ignoring Gaius' question.

"No, I haven't seen him since yesterday morning. Is he in trouble?" Gaius asked, jumping to Merlin's defence.

"No, we wanted to see if he was in before we sent out a search party for him and Arthur." Sir Gwaine explained.

"Is there a need for a search party? Merlin had said he didn't know how long he'd be gone. Maybe they just found less deer than expected." Gaius offered.

"Arthur said he would be back by nightfall. When he didn't arrive back we decided to give them a few more hours, we know how clumsy Mer-" Sir Gwaine stopped short at the look on Gaius' face.

"We're just worried, there's a lot of bandits out there and there's only two of them. We'll head out now. Thank you Gaius" Sir Leon said, before the knights turned and left the chambers. Gaius sighed and hoped Merlin was okay.

Before he had time to truly worry about Merlin a young towns-woman ran through the door.

"MY SON! He's not well! Please help." She panicked.

Gaius grabbed his medicine bag and followed the woman out, knowing, without a doubt, it would be Yellow Pox.

* * *

"Merlin could you pull any slower?" Arthur complained.

"If you're well enough to complain, you're well enough to walk, you royal prat." Merlin ranted.

"Do not speak to the King like that!" Lady Noramag commanded.

Merlin didn't respond. She had been like this the whole way here. Ruining the banter between the King and his manservant by telling Merlin off. Like he was a child and not the most powerful wizard of his time.

"You should learn some manners! Faron here would never dare to speak out like that!" She continued.

A quick glance back at Faron made Merlin realise he didn't want to be anything like the Lady's servant. With his black scraggly beard and his ever-present frown.

He risked a glance at Arthur, he was looking a little less pale but he still didn't look healthy. He was sat upright and had the emotionless mask back on his face, probably for Lady Noramag's benefit. If it had just been him and Merlin, he would constantly be complaining and groaning with every step.

They were close now though, Merlin could see the walls of Camelot rising up above the mass of trees.

Too busy looking up at the walls, Merlin tripped over his own feet and landed, face first, into the dirt path.

"Honestly Sire, your servant isn't much to come by." The Lady giggled, as Merlin pushed himself up. He heard Faron snort behind him.

Merlin tried to ignore the jibe and waited for Arthur to come to his defence like he always did. But nothing came.

Pushing himself up and dusting himself off he turned to the King. Only to find him gazing at the Lady next to him with a sickening look on his face. Was the King falling for this woman? Sure Merlin had thought she was attractive at first, but she was far too much of a snob to be with Arthur.

Gritting his teeth, to prevent telling Lady Noramag how he really felt, he gripped the reins once more and continued on the path. The sound of hooves came from somewhere in front of them. They were coming from Camelot so it was unlikely they were bandits, still Merlin felt his nerves tense up.

Finally, four knights on four steeds came round the corner.

"Sire!" Sir Leon exclaimed.

"Sir Leon." Arthur nodded, "Sir Gwaine, Sir Elyan, Sir Percival. Why are you here?"

"We're your search party." Gwaine grinned.

"Well thank you. This is the Lady Noramag" Arthur gestured, "Sir Gwaine and Sir Percival please lead her to the stables and then to the guest chambers. I must see the court physician."

With that the party turned around and headed for the gates of Camelot.

When they arrived at the physician's chambers, the first thing Arthur did was lie down on his stomach, finally getting the rest he needed.

"I suspect poison. Probably added to the arrow head." Gaius stated solemnly, after inspecting the wound.

"See these lines? They suggest blood poisoning." He continued, gesturing to the blue lines travelling out of the wound. It looked to Merlin like a child had drawn on the King with ink.

"Can you heal it Gaius?" Arthur asked from where he lay, sweat matted his hair to his forehead.

"Yes, it's quite a simple remedy. Merlin get the Damose tincture." Gaius commanded.

Merlin returned with a pale red liquid and handed it to Gaius, keeping his eyes on Arthur.

"This tincture will make you sleepy Sire, so I suggest you head straight to your chambers after this." Gaius said before holding the glass bottle to the King's lips.

Arthur sat up slightly and allowed the liquid to be poured into his mouth. He cringed, it tasted awful. Coughing and sputtering he finally swallowed the last drop.

"I will make up another bottle for tomorrow, for now, Merlin take him to his chambers."

Merlin crouched down and pulled Arthur's arm around his shoulders. Arthur, once again, leaned heavily onto Merlin and allowed himself to be lead to his chambers.

Once there, Merlin helped the King get undressed, trying hard not to look at the cut across his muscled back.

"Isn't she pretty Merlin?" Arthur murmered

"What?"

"Lady Noramag. Isn't she pretty?"

"Oh she's something alright." Merlin muttered, pulling the covers up to the King's neck.

"Goodnight Arthur." Merlin said as he left the chambers, he got no response from the sleeping King.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Merlin didn't notice the shadowy figure lurking behind the pillars.


	3. Chapter 3

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Sorry I didn't reply to them all personally, I will try to do it this time round.

To those who suggested Lady Noramag was another Sophia, all I can say is, Merlin is thinking the exact same thing.

SoooOOOOoooo heres the deal – I go on holiday this Sunday, so you lucky ducks will get chapter four on Saturday 3rd but that does mean that you will have to wait 10 days for chapter 5 (released on the 13th). So in summary, you get two chapters this week, then no chapters the week after, and then back to schedule. Sorry!

So here we are, Chapter 3!

* * *

"And I'm thinking a picnic in the forest. Doesn't that sound romantic? Of course she'll bring that servant of hers, but I'm sure you could keep him busy..." Arthur turned away from the mirror and looked Merlin up and down, "You suit him."

Merlin rolled his eyes and resisted throwing his own boot at the smitten King, who had already turned back to his reflection. He had been like this all morning. Repeating his plans to woo the Lady Noramag non-stop, all the while slipping in the odd insult. It was weird, Merlin had only ever seen Arthur get this attached to someone, this quickly, once – magic had been involved – but the warlock had already done a sweep check of the chambers and found no poultices, no charms, no odd looking candles, nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever.

Maybe Arthur really did love the woman. That was bad, not just for Merlin, but also for the kingdom. Noramag clearly valued royal status over everything else, she would never allow Merlin to bring magic back to Camelot and then the great kingdom of Albion would never be born...

Merlin shook off that thought, he was getting too far ahead. He still had all day today to ruin Arthur's date. It wasn't the first time Arthur had fallen for somebody completely wrong for him.

"Are you even listening to me, Merlin?" Arthur sighed, turning away from the mirror once again.

"I... Yes." Merlin answered, packing a few more apples into the basket.

"Oh? What did I just say?"

Merlin quickly skimmed through everything that would need preparing for the date.

The food – Done.

Arthur's clothes – Done.

Notify the Knights – Done.

The horses – Not done.

"You told me to prepare the horses."

"Lucky guess" Arthur replied, chucking his comb at the boy's head.

Merlin unskillfully dodged the comb; really it was quite a miracle it didn't hit him. He quickly ran to the door before Arthur had time to find something heavier to throw.

* * *

_They are holding hands. _

_They are lying side-by-side on a blanket._

_They are discussing their future._

_It is sickening._

* * *

"I don't trust her. She never even said what kingdom she was from!" Merlin ranted, stabbing a carrot with his fork.

Gaius made a non-committal noise, focusing on his own dinner.

"Gaius! This is important, what if she's dangerous to him? Dangerous to Camelot?" Merlin continued, scratching absentmindedly at the dried mud on his face.

"Merlin, I have to admit I don't see anything wrong with her. Yes, she's a bit..."

"Arrogant and pretentious?" Merlin offered.

"Yes, but so was Arthur when you first met him. You have to give her a chance to change." Merlin opened his mouth to protest but Gaius cut him off smoothly, "for Arthur."

Merlin paused.

"Yes, but we both know Arthur's an idiot. What if they get married and then Camelot returns to how it was when Uther reigned? Or even worse than that! What if she's another Sophia? Except this time, we don't manage to save Arthur because you won't help me! Then what, Gaius?" Merlin asked, wide-eyed.

"Stop being so melodramatic, Merlin!" Gaius scolded.

Gaius watched the boy as he sighed and pushed his food around his plate. He couldn't quite place his finger on what was bothering Merlin. It couldn't just be Arthur's fondness of the Lady. Or could it?

Maybe the boy had taken his destiny to heart and was acting a little possesive over Arthur, like a child being forced to share their toys.

He'd grow out of it soon enough, it was about time the young King had a lady friend. Lord knows he's been alone long enough, even more so after Uther's death.

Yes, a Lady of the castle is exactly what Arthur needs; Merlin will just have to deal.

"Did you pick up the thyme?" Gaius asked, changing the subject. He stood up and removed his plate from the table.

"Yes." Merlin replied shortly. Gaius took his plate off the table too, stopping Merlin from playing with his food.

"Good, will you place it with the other herbs? I've never seen this many cases of Yellow Pox so close together." Gaius mused.

Merlin tried to ignore Gaius' obvious attempt at changing the topic, but his curiousity got the better of him, "It's not contagious?"

"Not in the usual way. Usually people can be in contact with diseased people, without contracting the illness, for extended periods of time. Also families may have just one patient within their household. It really is baffling."

"It could be a curse? When did it start? Was it when-"

"No, Merlin. It wasn't when Lady Noramag entered the kingdom. The first case appeared the day before you left for your hunting trip."

Merlin threw the thyme unceremoniously onto the herb shelf and turned to retreat to his room. Maybe his magic book could explain Arthur's new obsession. If not, at the least, he could find a curse to turn Lady Noramag into a toad.

Before he had even taken a step, the door to the physician's chambers swung open. Sir Gwaine appeared holding the top half of Sir Leon's unconscious body, followed by Sir Percival holding the bottom half. Arthur followed behind them, looking clearly worried.

"He just collapsed during training." Gwaine explained as he lowered Leon to a sick bed.

Before Gaius reached the body he knew what it would be. He spotted the small yellow dots peeking out from under Leon's shirt.

Gaius set out to work as the knights gathered around. Gwaine and Percival sat on the bench to the left of Leon's body and Merlin took a seat next to Arthur on the bench at the bottom of the bed. Merlin tried not to notice how Arthur's shoulders tensed when Merlin sat down.

Percival looked intensely at his friend on the bed. He couldn't help feeling guilty. He had been in combat with Leon when he had gone down. Arthur had told him it hadn't been his fault, but what else could it have been? He must have hit him too hard. He felt responsible and nothing anybody said would change that. He had knocked out his friend.

"Percival. It is not your fault." Arthur reiterated, seeing the knight's mental struggle on his face.

"Your fault? Of course not boy! It's Yellow Pox, you couldn't have caused this!" Gaius explained – albeit a bit harshly - as he dropped a blue liquid into Leon's open mouth.

Percival heard their words but they didn't make a difference. He couldn't get the image of Leon falling to the ground out of his mind. He glanced at Arthur, he looked back at Percival but didn't push the subject anymore – he knew how it felt to feel responsible for something that wasn't your fault.

Percival looked at Merlin too, he looked worried as well, but his gaze was focused on Arthur instead of Leon. Percival glanced at Gwaine to see if he knew what was bothering Merlin. Only to find Gwaine staring in Arthur's direction too. Had he missed something?

"He needs some rest, you can't help him now." Gaius said, putting the potion away.

"Thank you Gaius. Will he be okay?" Arthur inquired in his serious, no nonsense voice.

"He should be, Sire. He just needs a few weeks to rest."

Arthur stood up and rushed out the door, his red cloak flaring out behind him.

"Does he have another date?" Merlin mumbled to himself as he retreated to his bedroom.

Gwaine and Percival left the room, shutting the door behind them.

"So, I saw you in there." Percival remarked, stopping Gwaine outside the physician's chambers.

"What do you mean?" Gwaine laughed, carefully avoiding Percival's eyes.

"Staring at Arthur? Is there something I'm missing? I know he's handsome, but could you make it more obvious?" Percival teased, punching Gwaine's arm.

"Apparently I could. I wasn't staring at Arthur." Gwaine replied, dodging Percival's punch expertly, "I was staring at the idiot covered in mud next to him."

"Merlin?!" Percival practically shouted.

Gwaine shushed him and dragged him away from the door.

"I don't know, he's kinda cute. I just want to protect him." Gwaine explained, being unusually sincere.

Percival looked at his friend. His friend who never admitted his feelings. He tried to picture Merlin and Gwaine together, but no it didn't work. Merlin was young and clean, Gwaine was... Well, Gwaine. He was buff and rough but rough in a sexy, safe way-

Percival stopped his train of thought. What was coming over him?

Before he could fully explore his feelings, Arthur came bustling around the corner, an intense look on his face.

"Grab your swords, we're going to find the bandits that attacked me and Merlin." He said, sweeping past them without stopping.

Percival and Gwaine looked at each other, before racing towards the armoury.

* * *

Arthur turned away from the Lady, after a quick kiss on each of her cheeks, and observed his knights. They sat astride their steeds, waiting for him to lead their way. He hadn't notified Merlin. After his little show on his date, he wanted very little to do with him.

Honestly, the boy was too cocky for his own good. One day he was going to find himself in the stocks for a lot longer than an hour.

Arthur bristled at the memory of Merlin "tripping" and pushing Noramag into the mud. Arthur had very nearly thrown Merlin off the cliff, luckily Faron had tackled Merlin in defense of his mistress.

He held onto the anger he felt for Merlin, he could release it onto the unsuspecting bandits. He climbed up onto his horse and lead his party into the forest.

Gwaine and Percival ensured they were at the back, out of the King's earshot.

"You know who else is all dewy eyed? Other than you, of course." Percival commented, ducking to avoid a low hanging branch.

"Shut up. But yes, Arthur. He's been all lovey since Lady Rude-To-Everyone came to town." Gwaine replied, "I swear if he ends up marrying her, I'm leaving."

"You can't leave, Knight's Code."

"You think that'll stop me?" Gwaine replied smugly.

Before Percival could reply, he saw Arthur raise his hand to silence them. The knight's stopped and withdrew their swords. Arthur dismounted his horse, followed by Lancelot, Elyan, Percival and Gwaine.

Arthur raised his sword, commanding the knights to follow him forwards. They picked their way silently through the forest before coming upon a clearing. Inside were six bandits, sat around a campfire sharpening their weapons.

Silently the knight's circled the clearing until it was surrounded, Arthur raised his sword and they all charged into the clearing.

The wind rushed passed Arthur's ears as he leapt down the hill, vaguely he could see his knights doing the same, their weapons reflecting the sun.

The bandits looked up shocked and jumped into action. Arthur couldn't tell where his arm ended and the sword began. It was second nature to Arthur as he took down bandit after bandit. Some injured, some killed. He could feel the energy of his knights around him and all too soon the battle was over. His anger at Merlin was still bubbling under the surface, unquenched by the short battle.

Looking down at the bodies around the clearing, Athur felt something akin to regret. However, that quickly dissolved when he saw the fresh blood on the bandits weapons.

"Is anyone injured?" He asked, worried. All his knights did a quick check of themselves, then shook their heads.

So it wasn't their blood, that would mean they had attacked someone else, probably after Merlin and Arthur had disappeared. Arthur felt no regret for killing all of the bandits, it was either kill them or have them kill someone else.

Turning back to his horse, Arthur thought about the Lady back at the castle, and planned how he would spend his evening with her.

"Wait, Sire." Lancelot shouted.

Arthur turned, his sword held high and ready. But all he saw was Lancelot crouched over the body of a bandit.

"He's still alive." Lancelot said, standing up away from the body.

"I'll handle this!" Gwaine exclaimed, withdrawing his sword and preparing to stab the man.

"NO! Wait!" Arthur shouted, running to the body, "We can take him back for questioning, we don't know who they're working for."

"Working for, Sire? They're bandits, they have no higher master." Lancelot explained.

"Usually yes. But I have a feeling these aren't normal bandits. Did you not see their weapons? They were too well made, too cared for to be used by bandits." Arthur said, tying the arms of the injured bandit.

Lancelot didn't reply. Nothing he could say would change the King's mind. He ignored the voice in his head telling him this was a very bad idea. Instead he, along with the other knights, helped tie the bandit to the King's horse.


	4. Chapter 4

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

Hi to all the new followers/favorites *waves*

So wow, here we are the fourth chapter. This features a lot of whumpage. Does it make me a bad person that I loved writing this chapter? Well, decide at the end of the chapter!

You know the deal, you will have to wait until the 13th for Chapter Five!

Have fun reading!

* * *

Merlin snapped awake. What was that noise?

Pulling his cotton shirt back on, he peeked through the crack in his door. He could see Arthur with a body flopping in his muscled arms.

Merlin groaned inwardly. The Lady was injured, Arthur was going to be unbearable after this. Well, even more unbearable than he was already. He had practically flung that bandit into the jail cell himself.

Arthur didn't look up as Merlin walked in, Merlin swallowed down the urge to turn around and curl back up in his bed. Instead he sat as far away from Arthur as physically possible, while still being within hearing distance.

"Sire, you have to tell me everything that happened." Gaius begged as he picked up the familiar blue potion. Yellow Pox again.

"SINCE WHEN DID YOUR TREATMENT REQUIRE AN INTERVIEW!" Arthur shouted.

Gaius and Merlin simultaneously jumped.

"Sorry." Arthur apologised rather stiffly, "Can you just help her?"

"I can, Sire. She just requires sleep, much like Sir Leon. It's just this disease seems to be spreading more rapidly than I thought possible. If we could locate the cause, we could stop any more people getting sick. I don't even know what's causing it, therefore any one of us, at any point, could contract the illness."

"We were just discussing..." Arthur trailed off, finally looking at Merlin. Merlin met his eyes before glancing away, Arthur cleared his throat and continued "Discussing our wedding."

Merlin stood up and walked back to his room. Ignoring the crushing feeling inside his chest.

* * *

_Okay that was definitely a bang. If Arthur and Noramag can't keep their hands off each other, why don't they __go back to his chambers? _Merlin thought, pulling his pillow over his ears.

Another bang, Merlin threw his pillow at the wall. It wasn't helping. They were being too loud.

Another bang.

Sighing louder than was necessary Merlin got out of bed once again. He walked through the door, intent on telling the King exactly where to go with his future wife.

"If you two can't-" Merlin stopped.

Was that blood? No. It couldn't be.

"Arthur?" Merlin called, panic bubbling up inside him as he stepped past the dark brown puddle.

There was a scuffle, too loud to be a rat. Merlin froze.

"Hello Merlin." A smooth voice called out.

"Oh... Er... Good, er, morning." Merlin stuttered as Lady Noramag stepped out from behind the make-shift curtain to the sick beds, she was wearing a silk nightdress that was slightly see through.

"Can I help you with anything?" The Lady asked, arching one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

Merlin tried to keep his eyes firmly on The Lady's face. The Lady watched Merlin squirm beneath her gaze.

"I thought I heard something." Merlin said, trying to see round to the sick beds.

"Sorry." Noramag giggled, she actually giggled – like a child. Merlin resisted showing his disgust, "The King and I are just a little busy."

"Right... Of course..." Merlin shifted his weight from foot to foot, "Well I'll just... Yeah."

Merlin held off a shudder, he didn't need the mental picture that forced its way into his consciousness.

He turned around. Then suddenly, darkness was all he could see. There was a distant thrumming, like having your head held under water.

Merlin opened his eyes.

_When had I closed my eyes?_

The steps to his bedroom came into focus. His head felt like it had been filled with smoke, distantly he could hear more banging and something being dragged. Trying to push himself up, he became aware of a dull throbbing on the back of his head. Merlin took longer than usual to put two and two together – he had been hit.

"Quickly, you moron." The Lady's voice hissed.

Merlin groaned as he pushed himself up to his knees.

"Hello Merlin." Noramag smirked, her voice sounded different. Merlin couldn't place his finger on it.

"Why did you hit me?" Merlin slurred as he turned to face her.

She was stood towering over Merlin's crumpled form. Her dark eyes sparkled, she looked all wrong. She used to be innocent but now she was full of evil.

Merlin's eyes refocused, he caught sight of Faron dragging an unconscious form towards the door.

"Leon?" Merlin begged.

"Aw. Are you gonna miss your fwiend?" Noramag mocked, crouching down in front of Merlin. She reached out, Merlin flinched, and placed her hand on his cheek, "Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

Merlin knew he had heard that voice before, it wasn't Noramag's voice.

"Arthur?" Merlin begged again.

"Don't worry, your love is fine. He's up in his chambers, unaware of all this. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for your guardian." Noramag said, carressing Merlin's face, the act was oddly comforting in comparison to the horror going on around him, "Now don't worry, sweetie. Sleep."

Noramag's eyes flashed gold. As Merlin's eyes drifted closed, he noticed Noramag's eyes return from gold to green, not brown. It was such a familiar green.

* * *

Arthur jumped out of bed, tripping over the sheet wrapped around him. He clambered up and grabbed excalibur from it's sheath, the alarm was sounding, he had to prepare for battle.

"Sire!" Lancelot burst into the chambers panting, he was half dressed, his shirt hanging off his shoulder, "Leon, Lady Noramag and her servant are all missing. Gaius has been attacked and Merlin is unconscious."

"What on earth happened!" Arthur bellowed over the sound of the alarm, running to the door.

"I'm not sure, Sire. Gaius has no idea who attacked him." Lancelot explained, running behind Arthur.

"Was there any sign of people leaving the town?"

"No, Arthur. What's the plan?" Gwaine asked, seemingly appearing out of nowhere.

"Gwaine, go see Gaius and Merlin. See if you can find out who did this. Lancelot, you come with me, we'll find the rest of the Knights and search through the forest." Arthur commanded.

Gwaine turned and ran towards the physician's chambers. He walked in without knocking, Gaius was hunched over Merlin.

"Gaius, I'll handle this." Gwaine dictated, taking control. He walked over to Merlin, his breath caught in his throat as he took in the growing pool of blood below his head.

"His pulse is steady... But he won't wake..." Gaius croaked.

"What should I do?" Gwaine whispered, looking at his unconscious friend. This shouldn't have happened, someone should have been here to protect him.

"Put him on the bed." Gaius explained sitting on the bench, clutching his shoulder. It was only now Gwaine noticed the blood on Gaius' shirt.

"Do you need anything?" Gwaine asked, gripping Merlin tightly as he carried him to the bed.

"No, just look after Merlin."

Gwaine didn't need telling twice, he gently lowered Merlin to the bed, hesistating slightly before pulling away.

Gaius pretended not to notice, instead he said, "Get the alyssum poultice from that shelf."

Gwaine walked over to the shelf and looked around, there were twenty different poultices. How was he supposed to know which one is alyssum? He turned back to Gaius perplexed. Had this not been such a serious situation, Gaius probably would have laughed but he just gestured to the green coloured poultice.

Gwaine picked it up and ran back to Merlin, he paused, poultice in his hand, and turned back to Gaius looking flustered. Gaius rolled his eyes, he pushed himself to his feet and shuffled towards his ward. Ignoring the pain on his shoulder he did his best to bring Merlin back to consciousness.

Gwaine stood anxiously to the side, biting his nails. His eyes locked onto his friend. The worry for Merlin was palpable in the air.

Arthur barged in, cutting through the worry and leaving a line of anger in his wake. Three knights followed behind.

"WHO WAS IT!" He bellowed, gripping Gaius by his coat and sticking his face in his.

Before Gaius could respond Percival and Elyan had gripped Arthur and dragged him away. Lancelot ran up and caught Gaius before he could fall.

Everyone stared at Arthur, shocked at his sudden, uncontrollable anger. He had never acted this furious, this spontaneous, before. Usually he was calculating his every move.

Gwaine stood there, looking as furious as Arthur.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" Gwaine yelled back.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Arthur thundered.

"NO! HOW DARE YOU! How dare you handle Gaius like that? He's an old man, Arthur! Just because that arrogant girl has-"

"Don't speak about her like that!"

"And while we're on the subject, stop treating Merlin like he's nothing! Ever since _she _arrived you've regressed back into the spoilt, little child you were before Merlin arrived!"

"Gwaine..." Percival whispered, trying to calm the fuming knight.

"No, Percival. He needs to know." Gwaine ranted, silencing Percival, "You know it was probably her who kidnapped Leon."

Arthur's lip curled in anger, one more word from Gwaine and his sword would be through his throat.

"It was probably her who attacked Gaius and knocked out Merlin! She was the only one in here with them! Can't you see, she's-" But no one would find out what Gwaine had wanted to say because right at that moment Arthur lunged, sword aimed at Gwaine's throat.

The other knights stood baffled, all caught off guard by Arthur's attack.

Gwaine, however, had anticipated it, he ducked out of the way and drove his elbow into the King. Arthur's attack was only fueled by Gwaine's actions. He dodged the punch Gwaine threw and lifted his sword.

The knights jumped into action now. None of them wanted to witness one friend kill the other, even if one was the King. If there was something that was causing Arthur to behave so out of character, they didn't want in-character Arthur to suffer the consequences. They dragged the men away from each other kicking and screaming.

Lancelot, still holding up Gaius, was the first to notice. Small, spirals of gold were radiating from Merlin. They were creating a slight glow around Merlin. No one else noticed though, they were all too busy trying to stop Gwaine and Arthur from killing each other.

Before anyone else glanced over at Merlin, the gold faded and left the young warlock looking much more frail than before. Still, his eyes opened and he sat up, as though nothing had been wrong with him.

Everyone – barring Gwaine and Arthur – turned in his direction.

"Hello." Merlin smiled, before sensing the tone of the room. His wide-eyes took in the scene around him. Percival was holding back Gwaine, Elyan was holding back Arthur – both struggling to keep control of the clearly seething men – and Lancelot holding up a limp Gaius.

"Have I missed something?"

"Well if that isn't the understatement of the year." Percival laughed awkwardly, trying to diffuse some of the tension.

Instead, Gwaine shook off Percival and stormed from the room without looking in Merlin's direction.

Elyan reluctantly let go of Arthur, but kept close, in case the King decided to attack the knight once more. Arthur didn't move, he just stood there, a betrayed look crossing his face.

Lancelot, being unable to hold up Gaius any longer, walked over to Merlin's bedside.

"Merlin, can I..." Merlin stood up, allowing Lancelot to lower Gaius down.

"Merlin, go run me a bath." Arthur commanded, without moving.

Merlin dashed past Arthur like a rabbit running from a fox.

"Don't you all have something to be doing?" Arthur asked at the staring knights. His voice was no longer filled with anger, instead it sounded empty and broken.

The knights left, leaving Arthur alone in the room with an unconscious Gaius.


	5. Chapter 5

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

Well after all the testosterone and anger of chapter four, I decided chapter five needed a bit more girly emotion so here we go.

Features: angsty!Arthur, confusedabouthisfeelings!Gwaine and innerbattle!Merlin

Okay I may have invented a few of those terms but oh well.

Also this is shorter than the past few chapters but it's got more lovey-dovey stuff in it so I think it equalises it... hopefully.

Enjoy! Please review!

(ALSO! To those who guessed Lady Noramag's secret, well done!)

* * *

Merlin whispered the spell and saw the water in the tub bubble. He reached his hand in, perfect temperature. Now all that was missing was the King.

Merlin sat on the chair nearest to him and contemplated the scene he had just witnessed. Why were Arthur and Gwaine so angry? Were they angry at each other? Surely not.

He had never seen Arthur so angry before, not even that time Merlin had accidentally snapped his sword in two.

Merlin rubbed the lump on the back of his head, he couldn't even remember getting that. All he remembered was Noramag crouching in front of him, her hand on his cheek. Everything was so messed up. He couldn't make heads or tails of the past few days, his mind was like a tapestry that had been half eaten by moths.

Sighing, he pressed his forehead onto the dining table, the cool wood felt great against his hot head.

"Merlin?"

Merlin looked up at Gwaine, stood in the doorway. He looked like a child that had just been scolded.

"What happened, Gwaine?" Merlin asked

"I'm not sure. I don't... I don't know why I did any of that. You were just... All that blood and then Arthur just grabbed him..." Gwaine rambled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about..."

"You were knocked out. Leon, Noramag and her servant are all missing. Gaius was attacked. Arthur was furious and then he came in and screamed at Gaius." Gwaine explained

Merlin's eyebrows knitted together, none of this made sense, "Why would Arthur scream at Gaius?"

"He wanted to know who attacked you. Or more, who kidnapped Noramag." Gwaine complained

"GWAINE!" Merlin shouted, jumping up.

"What!" Gwaine asked, panicked, pulling his sword out and staring wildly around the room.

"Noramag wasn't kidnapped. She attacked me!" Merlin exclaimed, the actions from the previous night suddenly coming back to him.

"Shush Merlin!" Gwaine hissed, clamping his hand over Merlin's mouth, "If Arthur hears you say that, you'll be hanged."

"He would never." Merlin mumbled through Gwaine's hand.

"He's not himself right now. Or maybe he is, I don't know. Just be careful, there's something going on here and I will not let him hurt you."

The sincerity of that last sentence had Merlin stuck for words. Gwaine lowered his hand and immediately replaced it with his lips.

Merlin didn't know what to do. Gwaine was kissing him, he was actually kissing him. He could feel his stubble rubbing across his own chin. He moved his lips in response and Gwaine pulled him closer.

Merlin's thoughts were slowly falling back into the half-eaten-tapestry again, but he didn't mind. It was different, it wasn't like not being able to remember anything it was more like wanting to forget. Wanting to forget everything that had happened in the past few days.

Gwaine unwillingly pulled away, Merlin opened his eyes and looked at the man in front of him. The man whose arms were still wrapped around his waist. He didn't want this though, he wanted Gwaine to be his friend, not his lover. Or did he? He couldn't tell, his brain was all fuzzy from being hit and Gwaine was being so warm and comforting.

Gwaine was struggling with a similar issue. No matter where he placed his hands on Merlin it didn't feel right. He couldn't get Percival's words out of his mind, _"Aren't Arthur and Merlin a thing?" _

Granted, they did seem to get along well, but now that Noramag was here, Arthur hadn't exactly shown affection towards his servant.

"I..." Gwaine started.

He jumped away when the door swung open. Arthur took a step in before pausing at the sight of Gwaine. Luckily, he hadn't seen the position his servant and his knight were in a moment ago, otherwise Gwaine really would have to fight for his life.

Gwaine stormed out, once again, this time ensuring his shoulder barged into Arthur's. Arthur moved slightly with the barge but didn't retaliate. He had seen the hurt on Gwaine's face when he had lunged for him earlier, he couldn't cause that much pain again.

Arthur shut the door behind him and walked over to the tub of now-cold water.

"Merlin." Arthur asked, gesturing wordlessly to the tub.

"Sorry Sire." Arthur wrinkled his brows, Merlin never called him Sire. "I'll heat it up again."

Arthur acknowledged the fact that his servant wasn't looking at him and was acting uncharacteristically servant-y. He must have been conscious when Arthur had entered the physician's chambers; must have seen him attack Gaius and Gwaine. He sighed and walked behind the screen and began to undress.

Meanwhile, Merlin whispered the spell once more and heated up the water, ensuring he clattered a pot loud enough so Arthur didn't suspect. Arthur stepped out from behind the screen and lowered himself into the tub.

"Could you pass me the soap?" Arthur sighed, feeling the warm water sooth his aching muscles.

Merlin wordlessly passed Arthur the soap and sat back in his chair, staring pensievely at the fireplace next to the tub. Arthur began rubbing the soap through his blond hair, Merlin resisted the urge to take over. Usually Arthur asked Merlin to do this because Arthur was just useless. He was knotting his hair up so much.

Merlin glanced away from the increasingly messy hair and spotted the cut on Arthur's back. From this position it seemed the blue lines were getting darker and longer. But surely that couldn't be right, Arthur had been drinking Damose everyday since the attack...

"So you and Gwaine, huh?" Arthur mused, trying to untangle a massive knot he had caused just a few seconds ago.

"What?" Merlin asked, snapping out of his daydream.

"You and Sir Gwaine seem to be getting along quite well. Which is more than I can say about myself and him." Arthur muttered.

"We're friends." Merlin answered.

Arthur grunted, Merlin knew this wasn't the end of the conversation.

After a moment of silence, Arthur continued, "I mean you can do whatever you want in your spare time, but I don't want your love interfering with knight training, okay?"

"If he still wants to be a knight." Merlin muttered.

He realised he had gone too far when Arthur didn't reply. Merlin stared at the back of Arthur's head, waiting for the explosion.

"True." Arthur whispered, lowering his hands from his hair. He didn't sound angry, he sounded hurt. Merlin instantly regretted his words.

Merlin stood and crouched next to the tub, Arthur looked at him and smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"He'll still want to be a knight." Merlin whispered.

"I attacked him, Merlin."

"I'm sure you had your reasons..." Merlin reassured, he had had no idea Arthur had attacked Gwaine, but he didn't press why.

"No. He was telling the truth. The Lady Noramag probably did kidnap Leon. She probably helped the bandit escape."

Arthur lowered himself until his head was under the water, washing the soap out of his hair. He listened to the soft thrumming of the water and the fizzing of the soap before coming back up for breath. Merlin was still crouched next to his head, looking at the floor.

"Why would you think that?" Merlin asked.

"She's gone. There's no sign of her or Leon. The bandit just _happened _to escape a few minutes after she went missing. I just... I don't understand why. Why do people betray me so much?" Arthur asked.

It was a rhetorical question but Merlin replied anyway, "Because you're the King."

Arthur looked at his servant, "Gee thanks Merlin. That made me feel better. All I have to do is stop being King."

"Let me finish, you prat." Arthur opened his mouth to complain but Merlin continued, "You're the King. People are always going to try to get close to you and use you. You just have to be careful who you trust."

"You're right. Just one problem. How do I know who to trust?" Arthur asked sincerely.

"Well there's me." Merlin smiled a wide grin.

"Oh great, I'm stuck with you."

"There's the knights."

"Yeah but what about people I knight in the future, will they all be trustworthy?"

"Just don't knight untrustworthy people, you turniphead!"

"Hey!" Arthur splashed water over Merlin. He lay in the tub watching water drip off his servant's black hair. One drop slid down his cheek, Arthur felt the sudden urge to wipe it off, but he resisted.

Merlin stood back up and picked the towel up off the table. He rubbed his hair and patted himself down.

"You better not be using my towel!" Arthur called.

"Nope." Merlin lied and threw the towel towards the King. It landed perfectly on his head, Arthur sighed.

He stood and wiped himself down, Merlin averted his eyes as the King stepped behind the screen.

The door swung open once again and Arthur peeked over the top of the screen.

"Percival is missing!" Elyan exclaimed, looking around the room for Arthur.

"What! Where was he last!" Arthur shouted, stepping out from behind the screen without his shirt. Merlin tried to focus on missing Percival and not looking at Arthur's buff chest. His mouth went suddenly dry.

"He went to the armoury, his sword needed sharpening and he never came back. Gwaine and I went looking for him but we can't find him anywhere."

"Sound the alarm and gather the knights. Merlin help me get dressed."


	6. Chapter 6

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

So chapter 6 aye?

More whumpage, yaaaaay. Also features more confusedabouthisfeelings!Gwaine

I had intended a bit of a slash-y ending to this chapter but I ended up getting carried away with all the whumpage, so you will have to wait until the next chapter, heh.

ENJOY PLEASE REVIEW THANKS

Merlin made sure his horse was the one closest to Arthur. He had no idea what they were going to find in the forest or if they would find Percival at all. He hadn't mentioned it was Lady Noramag who had attacked him, Arthur would probably figure that out soon and it could save Merlin from a lifetime in the stocks if he didn't tell him.

Gwaine, on the other hand, ensured his horse was the furthest away from Arthur's. He still hadn't forgiven the King for reacting like that. It had taken an awful lot of begging to get him to come along. Thankfully the King had promised a jug of ale to soothe his hurt feelings.

To be honest, Gwaine had jumped at the chance to rescue Percival, Percival meant so much to Gwaine he wasn't about to not rescue him because the King threw a temper tantrum. He just didn't want the King to know that. Plus him and Percival could share that jug of ale as soon as he got back to Camelot – because there was no way Gwaine was returning to Camelot without Percival.

He looked up at the King's manservant ahead of him and noted the way his head angled slightly towards his master. He had known after that kiss it wasn't Merlin he had wanted. It had felt wrong, all he wanted was to protect Merlin, to throw himself down in the line of fire if it meant Merlin's safety. Maybe going tête-à-tête with the King had helped him realise Merlin needed him; especially when the King was pretending he didn't notice his feelings.

Honestly, how could the King deny his feelings for the boy? After everything! For goodness sakes he'd gone hunting for a rare flower to save Merlin's life, against his father's will, barely a few days after he had met Merlin. Gwaine sighed loudly.

"Gwaine, if you sigh one more time, I won't buy you anything!" Arthur joked.

"If I sigh one more time, will you attack me again?" Gwaine mocked.

Arthur just laughed. Merlin smiled, it seemed things had gotten better between them.

_This won't last long _Merlin thought.

Arthur raised his hand and the sound of four swords being withdrawn from four sheaths rang out through the forest. Merlin silently wished he had some form of weapon, other than his magic, because he couldn't exactly whip out his magic in front of three knights and the King of Camelot. Although, that hadn't stopped him before.

Arthur dismounted and crouched down on the path.

"There's distinct footprints here and something being dragged probably.. Leon." Arthur's voice broke slightly on the word Leon.

Everyone pretended not to notice.

"What about Percival?" Gwaine asked.

"I'm not sure, if he was taken by the same people who took Leon then there would be some sign of him but there isn't..."

Gwaine fidgeted on his horse, "Let's go find him then!"

"The tracks lead this way." Arthur pointed, mounting his horse and leading the group forwards.

"You seem antsy." Lancelot muttered to Gwaine.

"Don't start Princess." Gwaine mumbled.

"Someone's a bit grumpy now their boyfriend's missing." Elyan smirked.

"He's not my-"

"Shush!" Arthur hissed, raising his hand, "Do you hear that?"

They all paused, Merlin detected a twig snapping. He turned his head and spotted a shadow amongst the trees, he tried to gesture to Arthur but before he could even turn, the shadow stepped out.

"Hello King Arthur." Lady Noramag smiled, stepping into the middle of the path.

Arthur didn't respond, he leapt off his horse and charged. No warning, no plan, nothing, just pure hatred. He raised his sword high above his head.

"ARTHUR!" Merlin called, trying to stop him, but it was too late. Noramag merely raised her hand lazily and Arthur flew backwards through the air. There was a loud crack as his head hit the tree.

That set them off, three knights and a serving boy jumped off their horses. The knights charged at the woman and the serving boy ran to his master.

Merlin paid no attention to what the knights did, they could rip Noramag apart for all he cared. Instead he heaved Arthur up to his feet and dragged him away from the battle.

"Merlin we need to help them."

"No, we need to save you, they'll be fine."

"She has magic."

"Yes, 10 out of 10 for observation."

Merlin and Arthur were flung forward. Merlin felt the wind rush past him and watched Arthur crash into the ground before crashing himself.

"No, no, no. We can't have that, can we?" Lady Noramag said, catching up.

"Knights." Arthur muttered.

"They're busy with some bandits, dear brother." Arthur snapped up. There was only one person who called him that.

"Morgana." Arthur hissed.

"Oh dear brother, it took you long enough. I mean, come on, Noramag? Rearrange it and you get Morgana. Merlin's right you are a prat." Morgana laughed.

She reached under her collar and yanked off a pendant, throwing it at Arthur's feet. Merlin stared at the gold pendant, the red jewel in the middle was the exact shape of Arthur's wound, and the trails of saphire surrounding the ruby were a perfect replica of the suspected blood poisoning. No wonder the wound wasn't healing.

Merlin tried desperately to cling to reality, but he couldn't. His head hit the ground.

Right before Arthur's eyes her disguise fell away. The brown eyes faded into green, the brown hair with hints of lighter tones darkened into hair blacker than her pupils. She reached down and ripped the hem of the white dress, creating a rip right up the side.

"I hate this dress. But you liked it and that's all that mattered, I guess." Morgana smirked.

Arthur ignored the nausea rising up inside, he had kissed his half sister. He glanced at Merlin next to him and saw the blood matting his hair.

"Is he..."

"No, your love isn't dead. God, what is with you two? I attack either one of you and the first thing you do is ask about the other. Do neither of you worry about yourselves?"

Arthur didn't respond, he reached out for Merlin's hand but was flung back.

"No. Focus on me. Do you even care what I did?"

"No." Arthur replied simply.

"LIAR!" She screamed and Arthur was flung even further back, his back hit a rock and knocked the wind out of him.

Before Arthur could clamber up, the knights came back into view. Lancelot was leaning slightly on Gwaine, but other than that they all looked fine. Elyan and Gwaine attempted to sneak up on Morgana.

"Nice try, boys." She laughed, flinging all three of the knights towards Arthur. Gwaine landed with a thud, his knees hitting into Arthur's stomach. Elyan and Lancelot hit a tree and landed in a pile at the bottom.

"Merlin!" Gwaine shouted, pushing himself off Arthur and crawling towards the boy.

"Why do you all care for Merlin so much? Your King is injured and you care about a manservant?" Morgana asked, perplexed.

"The King's a prat. Merlin's no harm to anyone." Gwaine explained smirking, still crawling towards him. His hand barely made contact with Merlin's before he was flung back into Arthur.

"Want to see a new spell?" Morgana asked, her tone becoming much happier.

"No thanks." Gwaine replied giving Morgana a wide grin, ignoring the stabbing pain in his side.

"Oh well." Morgana shrugged. She began reciting words in an unknown language, Arthur flinched as the words built in volume, he glanced at Lancelot and Elyan, both had their eyes closed, blood pouring from Elyan's neck and from Lancelot's cheek.

They were going to die. The thought hit him so hard it took his breath away. They were doomed. They had never been in this position before. Two knights missing, two knights unconscious, one knight injured but not giving in, an unconscious manservant and Arthur. Arthur had never felt this useless. He'd lost his sword, he'd brought everyone into the forest and ignored Gwaine and Merlin's warnings about "Noramag". And now they were all going to die because of him. What would happen to Camelot?

Without a King, Morgana would be free to reign. No one would be able to stop her. He closed his eyes and waited for the spell to stop, whatever it brought wouldn't be pleasant but it might be better than feeling responsible for all these lives lost.

Gwaine wasn't giving in that easily though. He had managed to crawl across the ground and grip Merlin's hand. If they were going to die, at least Merlin wouldn't die alone. As he tightened his grip, he saw Merlin's eyelids flicker. Was he awake?

Gwaine felt giddy, at least Merlin wasn't dead yet. They could all die together in some sort of bittersweet ending.

Gwaine's happiness instantly dissolved when he saw the small spirals of gold rising off Merlin's body.

"What are you doing to him! Stop it!" Gwaine begged.

Morgana stopped her reciting. Uh oh, Gwaine closed his eyes waiting for the imminant hit. She would kill him first, she had always hated him.

But nothing came.

He waited.

Still nothing.

He risked a glance at Morgana. His breath caught in his throat, she seemed to be choking. What on earth was happening?

He clambered to his feet, her eyes flicked to him but she didn't move. She gripped her throat and tried to catch her breath. Gwaine slowly reached for his sword and stepped forward, Morgana continued to splutter and cough. Without hesitating he bashed the hilt of his sword into her head, she let go of her throat as she dropped to her knees. Gwaine let her fall forwards.

Still uncertain about what had happened, Gwaine ran over to Merlin.

"What happened?" Arthur said opening his eyes and pushing himself to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain radiating down his spine.

"I have no idea." Gwaine answered truthfully and heaved Merlin up in his arms. Arthur ran to the other two knights and tried to wake them. Lancelot roused but Elyan didn't move.

"Lancelot, can you hear me?" Lancelot mumbled incoherently, it would have to do, "Get up and help me with Elyan."

Lancelot got to his feet heavily and helped lift Elyan up. Arthur took most of the weight of Elyan and helped drag him to the horses.

At the horses, Merlin was awake, albeit a bit dizzy, but it was better than being unconscious. Gwaine climbed up on the horse behind him, shifting Merlin towards the front of the saddle.

"Gwaine! What are you... What're you doing?" Arthur asked, looking flustered.

"What? He can't ride on his own!" Gwaine answered nonchalantly.

"Isn't that a bit..."

"A bit what, Sire?" Gwaine asked, putting on his best innocent face.

Arthur decided it wasn't worth the argument and instead helped Lancelot onto his horse, before throwing Elyan onto it.

"Don't. Let. Him. Fall." Arthur said, an intense look in his eyes. After his mini-breakdown back there he wasn't going to let anyone die.

"Get them both out of here and back to Camelot, I'll find Leon and Percival."

"You really are an idiot." Merlin ranted, "You can't do this alone. Let us come with you!"

Slowly, Elyan began to slip off the horse, Lancelot leaned too far to catch him and fell off.

"Lancelot!" Arthur shouted, running to his knights aid, only for Elyan to fall off as well.

"Seems you have everything in order here. We'll just head back to Camelot then." Gwaine mocked.

"Are you going to help, or just sit there cosying up to Merlin!" Arthur snapped.

Gwaine smiled to himself, finally Arthur was showing a small bit of jealousy. Completely the wrong time, but at least it happened before they were all brutally slaughtered in the forest.

Merlin and Gwaine jumped down. Gwaine got on the horse with Elyan this time and Merlin helped Lancelot clamber onto his own horse.

Just at that point, Morgana came through the trees.

"Leaving so soon?" She asked. She flung her arm out. Before he had time to acknowledge what had happened Arthur had grabbed Merlin's arm and yanked him away.

Arthur wasn't thinking about his knights now, quite selfishly he was only thinking about Merlin. The knights had more of a chance at surviving Morgana than Merlin did. He wouldn't allow this young boy to die now.

But Morgana didn't stay with the knights that had all been simultaneously knocked out, she had a different target. Weaving through the forest she followed the sound of Arthur and Merlin crashing away. She would catch them, no doubt in her mind.

It had been quite a good plan. Originally she had intended to stay close to Arthur and kill him in his sleep, but this was much more fun. It was sort of like a game.

Arthur wouldn't give up, he carried on dragging Merlin through the forest, who – as usual – was tripping over every log and stone he saw.

Arthur paused, something was off. It was too quiet.

"Hello brother." Morgana said, appearing out of nowhere in a blast of black smoke.

Arthur shielded Merlin behind him. Morgana muttered some words, her eyes flashing gold, and Arthur suddenly felt heavy. His heart sputtered and he dropped to his knees. Distantly he heard Merlin drop to his knees too.

"But brother, you're not the one I'm interested in. I'm interested in Emrys." Arthur knitted his eyebrows together, who?

"Oh don't you know?" Morgana asked, she crouched in front of Arthur, placing her hand on his cheek, "Your lover's got a secret."

Arthur opened his mouth to respond but Morgana's eyes flashed gold and it slammed shut against his will.

"You have no part in this conversation. It's between me and Merlin."

Morgana turned to Merlin, muttering a spell under her breath, and Arthur heard his servant scream out in pain. He tried to turn, tried to do anything, but he couldn't. Like his body wasn't under his control anymore. The scream rippled through every cell in Arthur's body. It felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces in his chest. The scream was so full of pain, he had to help Merlin, had to.

"Morgana.. I'm not." Merlin tried to speak

"Shush, I know you know where he is." She whispered before Merlin screamed out in pain again.

"STOP!" Arthur shouted. Morgana pulled back and stared at her half-brother looking baffled.

"How did you-" Suddenly a sword poked through Morgana's stomach. She collapsed to the ground, blood dripping down her white dress. The sword withdrew and Percival stepped out from behind her.

Morgana, as her last act before she disappeared in a blast of black smoke, flung her arm out. Arthur watched as a gash appeared across his chest. Blood poured out and Percival ran forward.

"G-g-go get help." Arthur stammered, suddenly feeling cold.

Percival pulled his hands, now covered in Arthur's blood, away from the wound. He went to pick up Arthur.

"No. Just g-g-go. That way, knights." Arthur mumbled.

Percival hesitated before deciding to run to where Arthur pointed.

Arthur turned and crawled towards Merlin. His face was pressed into the mud, there was no blood but his eyes were clamped shut.

"Merlin." Arthur whispered.

No response.

"Merlin, don't ignore me, I'm the King." Arthur growled.

"I forbid you from dying, Merlin." Arthur hissed at the form in front of him. He could feel his own heart beating out an odd rhythm.

Arthur slid forward on his stomach, ignoring the wound across his chest, and reached for Merlin's wrist.

Arthur held on as tight as he could.

His last conscious thought was of the fading pulse beneath his fingers.


	7. Chapter 7

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

Woohoo, slashers our time has come. If you stick religiously to canon pairings I suggest you avert your eyes for the first half of this chapter.

Also while we're here, this is the second to last chapter so you know what that means **time for some ****shameless self promotion ****yaaaaaay! Okay so my next story is an even more Merthur-y story, (it starts off with them in bed – no smut though) It will be up on Sunday 1****st**** of September, and will then be updated daily. If you liked this story I suggest you check it out, here's the summary: **

_Uther catches Arthur doing something unfavourable with someone even more unfavourable. Knowing Uther's murderous ways Arthur does everything in his power to save his friend and new lover. _

Thanks for all the lovely reviews, let's keep 'em coming for the last two chapters! :)

Enjoy

* * *

Percival looked up from his sword as Gwaine swaggered in.

"Thought you'd still be shouting at Arthur." Percival mused.

"It's no fun when he agrees." Gwaine said, watching Percival sharpen his sword.

Gwaine snorted as Percival's eyebrows almost flew off his head as he asked, "He's agreeing?"

"Yeah, he just sits there clutching at his heart while I yell at him." Gwaine complained.

Gwaine wouldn't have thought it possible but Percival's eyebrows moved even higher, "Clutching his heart?"

"Well." Gwaine began, straddling the bench next to Percival and picking up a rock to sharpen his own weapon, "He claims his wound is hurting him, but I think it's a bit convenient his wound is directly over his heart."

"You want to be careful, we won't always be there to save you from Arthur."

"I don't need saving, I could beat him in a fight."

Percival stifled a laugh.

"You don't think I could?" Gwaine asked a bit stiffly.

"In a sword fight, yeah. But wrestling, no chance." Percival shrugged.

"I could beat him at wrestling!" Gwaine exclaimed.

"Nah you couldn't."

"Oh and you could?"

"Yeah. I'm better than him at wrestling."

"No way, I could beat you!" Gwaine said, standing up.

Percival stood up too, and stepped towards Gwaine until they were inches apart.

"Try me." As soon as the words were out, Gwaine had his arms wrapped around Percival's waist.

Percival, barely deterred by Gwaine, shook him off and kicked him back. Gwaine staggered backwards, before charging full speed back at his friend. Percival used Gwaine's momentum to knock him down.

Gwaine lay on the floor watching the ceiling lurch slightly to the right. Before he could think about getting up he felt a weight on his waist and his hands were pinned above him. He moved his eyes away from the still-spinning ceiling and looked at the grinning Knight straddling him.

"Best two out of three?" Gwaine asked, a wide grin spreading on his face.

"No you lost, accept it."

Gwaine tried to kick out but Percival had hooked his legs on Gwaine's, stopping any movement.

Gwaine paused, trying to think of an escape plan.

The next thing he noticed he was being kissed. He didn't know how it had happened. It felt different; different to his kisses with the townswomen; different to his kiss with Merlin. It was full of fire and passion, it was so hot Gwaine had a fleeting image of his body on fire.

But it wasn't just hot, it was tender and loving. It was weird, how could something so fiery and exciting be so soothing at the same time? It felt great.

Gwaine ignored the cold from the floor coming through his shirt, he ignored the voice in his head telling him it wasn't just Arthur who denied his feelings. Instead he focused on how soft Percival's lips felt against his.

Hands still pinned above his head, Gwaine gave in to the kiss and let the incessant, constant voice in his head die down.

* * *

Arthur stared at the figure on the bed. There were no signs of life except the rhythmic rise and fall of Merlin's chest. Arthur could see his heartbeat through Merlin's shirt. Good sign.

He pushed the heels of his palms into his eyes.

"_He's not dead." _Arthur heard the voices in his mind, basically everyone who had come to visit Merlin had said something similar.

But it didn't matter what they said. Not dead was not the same as living. Merlin could spend the rest of his life not-dying here but it wouldn't be much of a life. Yes he would be _alive _but he wouldn't be _living_, he wouldn't be with Arthur.

It would be Arthur who would have to live without Merlin.

Without Merlin, Arthur would be woken gently to shiny armour and clean clothes. He could eat breakfast without being called fat. He could actually kill something on a hunting trip without Merlin scaring it away with his loud footsteps.

But he didn't want that. He would happily spend all day hunting if Merlin would just open his eyes. He would put up with the unclean armour, the wrinkled shirts and the fat jokes, if Merlin would just open his eyes.

"Do you hear me Merlin? Just open your eyes." Arthur begged, crouching forward on the edge of his seat, "Don't make me command you."

"Merlin don't disobey me, I'm the King." Arthur whispered, not sounding very King-like.

"New tactic: I'll give you three days off a month if you open your eyes now."

Nothing.

"Okay four days."

Nothing.

"Okay, one week off every month but you're forcing my hand on this."

Merlin continued lying there, unmoving.

"Fine! You can have the rest of the year off if you just. Open. Your. Eyes." Arthur pleaded.

Gaius hovered in the doorway. He cleared his throat and the King snapped up straight, wiping away the moisture in his eyes.

Even though he knew, Gaius still asked, "What were you doing?"

"I was... Checking his pulse." Arthur lied.

"Ah, any change?" Gaius asked calmly, unpacking his medicine bag. He had found the source of the Yellow Pox at least. A bag of grains had been infested by mice, nothing magical about that. He had intended to show Merlin he was wrong, but he hadn't been awake.

"No." Arthur answered bluntly.

Gaius sighed and turned to the King in front of him, he was making himself sick with worry. Gaius could see the bags under his eyes from halfway across the room.

"Sire, you should-"

"I'm fine." Arthur answered, cutting Gaius off and turning back to Merlin.

Gaius sighed and turned back to his medicine bag.

Arhur stared pensievely at the wall, thinking about this morning. _Gwaine and Percival had come to visit Merlin. Arthur acknowledged their odd behaviour, they were acting more co-operative than usual. Usually they were at each other's throats, but not today. Arthur didn't have much time to contemplate this before Gwaine's eyes flicked down to Merlin's hand – or more specifically, Merlin's hand held in Arthur's. _

_Arthur dropped the hand with a thud, making up some excuse about the pulse being easier to check in the hand. Percival nodded along but Gwaine merely raised a skeptical eyebrow, Arthur knew neither believed his story. Fortunately they didn't push the King any further._

* * *

Merlin opened his eyes and watched little circles of colour burst in front of him. Everything was too bright. It was all wrong, hadn't they been in the darkening forest seconds ago?

Merlin suddenly became aware of the blanket on top of him, he felt trapped and smothered. The panic rised within him as the memories of the forest burst into his mind.

_Running through the forest, being chased by Morgana. Like a twisted version of a child's game. _

_Morgana catching up and Merlin feeling his heartbeat become erratic and irregular. Feeling his knee crack as he collapsed to the ground, watching Arthur do the same. _

ARTHUR.

Merlin kicked out, trying to free himself, but he ended up entangling himself further in the blanket. He needed to find Arthur. His breath became shallow and fast as he carried on wriggling, trying to escape. Panic filled him up, he felt sick to his stomach, where the hell was he?

"Merlin stop. I'm here. Stop saying my name. Merlin I'm right here. Stop wiggling, I'm trying to help. Yes it's me, stop saying my name. Merlin seriously stop, you're making it worse. Just keep still. FOR GOODNESS SAKES STOP SAYING MY NAME."

A hand reached under the blanket and pressed on Merlin's shoulders. He couldn't breathe, it was hot – too hot – under the blanket. He was going to suffocate. The hand – who's hand was that? - pressed on him harder, forcing him to be still.

Eventually the blanket was pulled away from his face, cool air rushed over him. He took a deep breath, and another and another until he was gasping at the air, like a fish on dry land.

Taking another deep breath, Merlin recognised the dark stain on the ceiling. The same stain Merlin had caused when an unlearned spell had caused his dinner to fly upwards. He was home. His breathing slowed.

Before he could question how he got home, a face obscured his view of the stain. Blue eyes and blond hair. Arthur.

Merlin tried to express his delight at seeing Arthur safe but all that came out was an odd combination of syllables.

"Riiiiiight" Arthur said, looking at Merlin oddly, "At least you're awake."

"How long have I..." Merlin croaked. Arthur passed him a waterskin and Merlin drank from it greedily. All too soon it was empty.

"I'll get you another one." Arthur said, he rose but it seemed to take more effort than usual.

"How long have I been asleep?" Merlin asked, his voice still cracked.

"Three days." Arthur stated, not looking at Merlin as he refilled the waterskin.

_Three days?_ Merlin panicked, as Arthur brought another water skin.

It was while Merlin was gulping down more water he noticed the dark rings under Arthur's eyes. He noticed how cracked Arthur's lips looked. He noticed how it seemed to take much more effort to do simple tasks like standing up.

"How long have you been awake?" Merlin asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I'm on Merlin-Watch." Arthur said, not really answering the question.

"For how long?" Merlin pressed.

"Does it matter?"

"Arthur." Merlin said pointedly, it was difficult to sound stern when his voice sounded so broken, but it worked anyway.

"Three days."

"Arthur, you shouldn't have... Someone else could've..."

"I'm fine." Arthur said in his no-nonsense, end-of-conversation voice.

"Fine." Merlin paused, "Hey, could you get me some more water?"

Arthur hesitated before taking the waterskin and forcing himself to his feet.

"See! You can barely stand, let me take you to your chambers." Merlin commanded, forcing his own feet into action.

He wobbled slightly, Arthur took a few steps towards Merlin, arms outstretched to catch him if he fell.

"You can barely stand yourself!"

"Yes, but I've been sleeping for three days, it's your turn." Merlin tried not to think about the fact that he had lost three days and instead focused on helping Arthur.

Merlin pulled Arthur's arm around his shoulders, Arthur would have pulled away but it would've just tired them both out. He could tell by the determined look on his friend's face, there was no stopping him.

"So Noramag was Morgana, huh?" Merlin commented, struggling to pull the door open.

In the end Arthur had to help, "Shut up Merlin."

"Weird twist, huh? I didn't see that coming."

"What part of _shut up Merlin_ do you not understand?" Arthur asked, by now the arm he had wrapped around Merlin's shoulders was being used to keep Merlin on his feet.

The sudden leap back to moving was taking it's toll on Merlin, his skin looked paler than it had and his eyes seemed unable to focus. Arthur watched him closely, preparing to catch him if he did fall. Although, the state Arthur was in he imagined he wouldn't be much use, save falling to the ground first and cushioning Merlin's fall.

Merlin, on the other hand, was focusing all his attention on Arthur. He ignored the way his legs felt like jelly and the fog that was slowly building in his mind. He ignored the weird buzzing sound in his ears. Instead he paid attention to Arthur's walk, he wasn't as confident as he usually was and he stumbled about as often as Merlin did.

To keep his mind and eyes focused, Merlin carried on rambling, "I wonder whether Faron was one of the bandits who attacked us. He looked like he could've fitted in well there."

"Merlin."

"Shut up?" Merlin asked, turning to smile at Arthur.

They had finally made it to Arthur's chambers. Once inside, Arthur ended up taking most of Merlin's weight, but he didn't tell him that. Instead he allowed his manservant to lead him to his bed and tuck him in (fully dressed, but Arthur couldn't bring himself to complain.)

Merlin turned gracelessly and stumbled towards the door.

"Merlin, wait!" Arthur called, sitting up.

"Hmm?"

"Could you... Could you stay here."

Merlin's brow wrinkled, he glanced at the empty space in the King sized bed.

"Not in my bed." Arthur said, answering the question Merlin hadn't asked, "Just... Somewhere. I want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm sure I'd be okay in Gaius'-"

"Please." Arthur begged.

"Are you scared, Sire?" Merlin smirked, but he lowered himself to a chair next to the dining table anyway.

"No. I don't want you tripping and breaking your neck on the way back." Arthur said pointedly, blowing out the candles next to his bed.

The room plunged into darkness, Arthur lowered himself down and heard Merlin rest his head on the table.

"I didn't know you cared." Arthur could hear the smirk on Merlin's lips.

"I don't. I just don't want to train a new servant. Although they'd do your job better than you, so maybe it's best if you do break your neck." Arthur replied, his voice muffled slightly by the pillow.

"On your date with Lady Noramag, or Morgana, did you kiss her?" Merlin replied.

Arthur didn't reply, Merlin would've thought he was asleep if he hadn't heard him sigh.

"She's your half sister. You kissed your half sister." Merlin teased.

"Merlin." Arthur warned.

"You were gonna marry her." Merlin laughed, moving so his arms were between the cold table and his head.

"Merlin, I'm warning you."

"You kissed Morgana. That's a little weird, don't you think?"

The boot landed on the back of Merlin's head. He sat up and rubbed at the growing lump, it didn't help that his head was foggier than ever.

"OW!"

"I warned you."

"Wait... I can't see. I'm blind. ARTHUR YOU BLINDED ME!" Merlin carried on shouting and he heard Arthur scramble out of bed, followed by a distinct hiss of a candle being lit.

Panicked footsteps ran towards him, then two warm hands were pressed against his face, holding his head still.

"MERLIN! Are you okay? Can you see me?" Arthur's frantic voice called out.

"Aw, Arthur. I knew you cared." Merlin whispered, laughing.

"That's not funny, Merlin! You could've really been..." Arthur trailed off, dropping his hands from Merlin's face and stepping back.

"This is why you shouldn't throw things at me!" Merlin whined.

Merlin ducked this time and he felt – rather than saw – the boot fly above his head. Arthur knew he had missed but after the shock of Merlin's trick, he felt exhausted. Instead of lobbing more things at Merlin's head he made his way back to bed.

"Go to sleep, Merlin."

"You go to sleep. I'm on Arthur-Watch."

Arthur would have complained, but sleep overwhelmed him and dragged him into unconsciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

**The King's Bed**

A/N [show-me-your-tardis]

**Plot – A hunting trip goes terribly wrong; there's a strange disease spreading through Camelot and rumours are spreading about who, exactly, is in The King's Bed. **

So here it is. The last chapter, boooooo :(

I so loved writing this fic, it rekindled my love for writing slightly longer stories (granted 8 chapters at 2000 words each isn't much but shhhh).

So time for some shameful self promotion! I have a new Merlin fic posted called _The Morning After the Night Before _it's slashier than this (but not smut) will be multichaptered and updated daily. Here's the summary:**Plot – Uther catches Arthur doing something unfavourable with someone even more unfavourable. Knowing Uther's murderous ways Arthur does everything in his power to save his friend and new lover. **

If you liked this one, go check it out :) Thank you!

Sorry if this chapter seems a little flat, I'm usually quite bad at writing closing chapters. So constructive criticism it extremely helpful here.

See if you can spot the teeny-tiny Doctor Who reference ;)

I hope you enjoyed reading this, so here we are, on with the fic

* * *

Merlin opened his eyes, blinking away the fading dream. There had been a mountain of mashed potato and...

Merlin shook his head, it wasn't important. At least his nightmares had stopped.

He yawned, stretched and opened the curtains in the King's chambers. The light shined directly onto the empty bed next to him.

"Arthur?" Merlin called out. No response came.

Arthur must've woken early and dressed himself. Did he have training today? Merlin checked the day, it was definitely Wednesday.

Or was it Sunday?

He tried counting it out on his fingers but shortly after meeting Noramag/Morgana time goes a bit wibbly wobbly. Days seem to blur into other days, Mondays blurring into Thursdays and minutes seeming like hours.

Merlin shrugged, he walked back to the table and found some water leftover from the King's breakfast. Arthur must have made sure some was left for him. Slurping loudly from the goblet, Merlin decided to go hunt the King down.

Leaving the room, Merlin collided with Gaius.

"Gaius, where's Arthur?" Merlin asked, struggling to his feet.

"Merlin. Where did you get to?" Gaius asked, picking up the bottles Merlin had knocked from his hands.

"Arthur wanted me to stay with him... Not in his bed." Merlin added at the look on Gaius' face.

"Well you best hurry, there's a meeting of the round table."

"I'm not a knight of the round table..." Merlin stated, falling into step with Gaius.

"But you are part of the round table. Now go!" Gaius commanded, pointing at the double doors in front of them. He turned and made his way down the corridor, mumbling something about inappropriate behaviour and boundaries.

Merlin heaved the doors open, pausing halfway to catch his breath. Arthur looked up as he walked in, he stuttered a bit on whatever he was saying but quickly corrected himself. Merlin pretended not to notice Gwaine elbow Percival and smirk.

"...She's back, so we must be vigilant. Trust no one with this information. I want no one beyond this table to find out about Morgana. It would only cause panic." Arthur continued in his Kingly voice. It was much more powerful than his normal voice.

Merlin spotted the empty seat next to Arthur, obviously waiting for him. He leaned back against the door, merely pushing the door open had fatigued him, there was no way he could make it to the seat without collapsing.

Lancelot looked up at Merlin and raised an eyebrow, silently asking if Merlin was okay. Merlin couldn't find the effort to nod, he just allowed a small smile to play on his lips. Lancelot looked back to Arthur, apparently satisfied Merlin wasn't about to pass out. Merlin wasn't quite sure.

"Also, to quell any rumours before they begin," Arthur began, glancing up at Merlin with a weary expression, "Nora- Morgana and I did not... You know."

Arthur cleared his throat, Merlin watched a few of the knights fidget slightly. Gwaine raised his hand.

Everyone turned to look at him oddly.

"Yes Gwaine?" Arthur asked, taking a deep breath and bracing himself for the inevitable bullying.

"Are you saying, oh wonderful King, that you did not, in fact, kiss your half sister?" Gwaine asked, smirking.

Arthur blanched

"Okay. New rule. Nobody – and I mean NOBODY -" Arthur said, looking pointedly between Gwaine and Merlin, "is allowed to mention these past few months. I want you all to forget Noramag ever existed. The only thing you need to remember is that Morgana is not dead. Understood?"

Gwaine raised his hand again, but instead of asking him to speak, Arthur swept from the room, careful to avoid everyone's gaze. Merlin smirked as Arthur blew past him.

The knights all stood and rose. Lancelot ruffled Merlin's hair on the way out. Gwaine and Percival were the last two to leave. Gwaine paused before leaving, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Heard you and our King spent the night together." Gwaine said, winking.

"I... What? How did you..." Merlin asked, feeling flustered.

"Word travels fast in Camelot, Merlin." Gwaine smiled, running to catch up with Percival.

* * *

"All of them must be thrown out if we are to stop the contagion." Gaius explained as Merlin stepped through the door.

"We will get on that immediately, thank you Gaius." Sir Leon answered, turning and walking past Merlin.

Merlin stepped in, throwing his bag down in the process.

"Merlin, please stop throwing your bag wherever it suits you." Gaius scolded.

"Sorry." Merlin said through a mouthful of bread.

"And stop eating the food before I've served it."

"Sorry." Merlin repeated, swallowing the bread and sitting down at the table, "How's the Yellow Pox thing going?"

"It's solved. Turns out the grains have been infested with mice. Hence why only certain people were getting the disease. Unfortunate really. All the grains have to be thrown away so we'll have to stick to the vegetables for a while."

"Wait..." Merlin said, another bite of bread hanging from his mouth, "s'in the grains?"

"You're fine Merlin, there's no grains in this bread, I ensured it."

Merlin swallowed hesitantly.

"Or maybe that was the other batch..."

"GAIUS!"

"Calm down, Merlin. You'll be fine." Gaius promised. He narrowed his eyes slightly, before saying "You aren't feeling hot, are you? No nausea?"

Gaius smirked as Merlin gulped.

* * *

Merlin ran through the corridor, he was so late. Arthur was going to kill him. He skidded round the corner and barreled through the King's chamber doors.

"Hello Merlin." Arthur called from the bath tub.

"You poured your own bath?" Merlin asked, drawing his eyebrows up.

Arthur hummed in response.

"Oh... Should I leave?"

"No, actually could you reheat it. I think I did it wrong." Arthur answered, standing out of the bath, dripping water all over the floor, "Oh, also mop up the floor."

Merlin sighed, back to normal then. Arthur stood inspecting Merlin as he set a bucket of rocks onto the fireplace.

"Arthur... Are you aware you're naked." Merlin asked, keeping his eyes focused on the fire.

"Doesn't bother me." Arthur responded, wiping away a droplet falling down his neck.

Merlin didn't respond, he carefully removed the now-heated rocks and placed them below the tub.

"There you go, that should be hotter now." Merlin replied, moving to his usual chair next to the table.

Arthur lowered himself back into the tub, this time, instead of facing the fireplace like usual, he faced Merlin.

"So last night." Arthur began.

"It's okay, it was inappropriate for me to stay here and I-"

"No Merlin. It was inappropriate. I shouldn't have made you stay on the table like that. You probably injured your neck or something, and for that I'm sorry."

Merlin opened his mouth to respond but shut it quickly, words failing to come to mind.

"I just" Arthur glanced down at the tub in front of him, refusing to meet Merlin's eyes, "I needed you here. I needed you safe. After everything with Morgana and Elrees-"

"Emrys."

"What?"

"What?" Merlin repeated, clearing his throat.

Arthur looked at his manservant oddly, before glancing away again, "After everything with Morgana and Emrys I needed to know you weren't about to be attacked again and... And... I don't know, I needed to protect you."

Merlin wrinkled his brow, before smirking, "So you do care?"

"Seriously Merlin? I'm baring my soul here, telling the truth, and you mock me?" Arthur said, a look of hurt crossing his face.

"You'll have to try harder than that to trick me." Merlin laughed.

Arthur dropped the look of hurt and glared at Merlin, "Shut up."

Merlin smirked and rubbed subconsciously at the lump on the back of his head.

"We're both a bit bruised and battered, aren't we?" Arthur asked, tensing his sore muscles.

Merlin stretched out his knee, heard the bone pop again, "I feel like an old man. And believe me, I know what that feels like."

"What?"

"What?"

"Stop doing that!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Doing what?"

"Saying something weird and then just what-ing me afterwards."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you sure Morgana didn't hit you in the head when you were kissing?"

"Merlin, I swear-"

"You swear what? You just said you needed to protect me. You aren't going to let that go to waste are you?"

Arthur sighed, Merlin was right. He got out of the cooling bath water and began drying himself off.

"Pass me my shirt, please." Arthur asked, pulling his pants on without bothering to step behind the screen.

Merlin helped Arthur into his shirt, but didn't return to his seat once Arthur's head popped back up.

"So, am I allowed to sleep in my own bed tonight, or do you need me to hold your hand? Or maybe you'd prefer-"

Merlin didn't get to finish his sentence. In fact, whatever he was going to say died out when the lips touched his. Arthur kissed him hard and so much was in that kiss. Affection, worry, a promise. It was a break, it was a break from life, a break from the war and a break from the pain to come. It was Arthur promising protection and loyalty and love.

And Merlin said it back, he pulled Arthur closer and whispered his own promises through his lips. It was everything Merlin had said, everything he would say and everything he could never say. It was I'll-keep-you-safe-Arthur and I'll-never-leave-you-Arthur and I-love-you-Arthur.

Merlin never wanted it to end. He wanted to stay here, in this warmth and safety, forever.

* * *

"What's going on?" Elyan asked, strolling down the corridor.

Gwaine and Percival yanked their ears away from the door as something slammed against the other side.

"From what we here, Arthur's invited a new victim to his bed." Gwaine joked.

"What?" Elyan asked, his face creasing in confusion.

"Well not quite the bed, it seems they're using the door."

Elyan looked between Percival and Gwaine still not understanding.

"Merlin and Arthur are kissing." Percival explained

"WHAT!" Elyan said louder this time.

"You didn't know?" Gwaine asked.

"No! Since when are they..."

"My bet is since the day Merlin came to Camelot. Come on, it was always going to happen. You don't need a sword to cut the sexual tension between them."

"Yeah but he's the King and Merlin's..."

"Yes?" Gwaine said, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword, daring Elyan to continue that sentence.

"Alright, alright. Keep your hair on Gwaine." Percival warned, placing his hand on Gwaine's arm.

"Speaking of sexual tension." Elyan said, as he watched Percival's hand slide down Gwaine's arm and stop on Gwaine's hand.

"Shut up." Gwaine said, moving his hand reluctantly away.

"Oh you should've seen them in the armoury." A voice called from down the corridor.

Gwaine tried to force the blush that rushed to his cheeks back down. Lancelot and Leon wandered down the corridor looking smug. Leon was limping slightly, but he had a wide grin on his face.

"All over each other, they were." Lancelot continued, stopping next to Elyan and raising his eyebrows.

"Shut your mouth, princess." Gwaine warned.

"You know, I never really saw Gwaine as the submissive type." Leon whispered conspiratorially.

Even Percival couldn't help but laugh at the blushing Knight next to him.


End file.
